Lyrical melodrama about a young shepherd, who finds joy in the simple, earthly pleasures of life and finds adaptation to modern society unneccessary.

Serafino Fiorin, a shepherd in the Abruzzi Mountains in Italy, is mainly concerned with the pursuit of pleasure. He is drafted into the army, but after spending most of his time in the brig, he is discharged. Returning to his home town, he falls in love with his naive 17-year-old cousin, Lidia, who allows him to have sex with her. Lidia tries to persuade him to marry her, but Serafino has no intention of marrying her and turns to Asmara, a local prostitute. Later, his eccentric Aunt Gesuina dies and wills him a small fortune, which he immediately begins to squander. Serafino's Uncle Agenore, to gain control of the inheritance, goes to court and has Serafino declared mentally incompetent; to further insure his trusteeship, Agenore tries to force Serafino to marry Lidia, his daughter. At the wedding Serafino's friends disrupt the ceremony, and Serafino escapes to marry Asmara. Asmara and her brood of illegitimate children move into a new house, and Serafino returns to the mountains and his simple life as a shepherd.